Leonardo Romero Tobar is Professor of Spanish Literature at the Universidad de Zaragoza; he has taught in different Spanish Universities, such as Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela or Universidad Carlos III, as well as in other countries (France, Canada, US…). He is member of several scientific organization; for instance, he was vice-president of SELGyC and co-founder of the Spanish Society of Bibliography. He has published both medieval (mostly hagiography) and modern texts (Larra, Espronceda, Bécquer, Clarín, Valera, Baroja, Valle-Inclán) and has written studies on 19th-century Spanish narrative (La novela popular española del siglo XIX, 1976), Romanticism (Panorama crítico del romanticismo español, 1994; La lira de ébano. Escritos sobre el Romanticismo español, 2009), epistolary literature (he is the editor of the 8 volumes of Valera’s letters), Literary History (La Literatura en su Historia, 2006, Literatura y Nación, 2008), travel literatura (Libros de viaje, realidad vivida y género literario, 2005), Larra’s journalistic works (Dos liberales o lo que es entenderse, 2007).


ABSTRACT:

"Valera’s Iberism"

The Spanish writer and diplomat Juan Valera, from his first stay in Lisbon (1850), developed an intense activity of readings, criticism and personal relations with his Portuguese contemporaries. From his contributions in Revista Peninsular (1855-6) to his last novel Morsamor (1899), he left plenty of proof of this activity. In this presentation we will discuss the concepts of "nation" and "civilization", as used by Valera to explain his idea of what had been and should be the relations between the Iberian countries.



El escritor y diplomático español Juan Valera, desde su primera estancia en Lisboa (1850), desarrolló una intensa actividad de lectura, de crítica y relaciones personales con escritores portugueses contemporáneos. Desde sus contribuciones a la Revista Peninsular (1855-1856) hasta su última novela Morsamor (1899) dio amplio testimonio de ello. En esta intervención serán estudiados y discutidos los conceptos de “nación” y “civilización” tal como los empleaba Valera para explicar su idea de lo que habían sido y debían ser las relaciones entre los países ibéricos.



O escritor e diplomata espanhol Juan Valera desenvolveu, desde a sua primeira temporada em Lisboa (1850), uma intensa actividade de leitura, crítica e relações pessoais com escritores portugueses contemporâneos. Desde as suas contribuições na Revista Peninsular (1855-1856) até ao seu romance Morsamor (1899) deu disto amplo testemunho. Nesta intervenção serão estudados e discutidos os conceitos de “nação” e “civilização” tal como Valera os usava para explicar a sua ideia do que tinham sido e do que deviam ser as relações entre os países ibéricos.